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UA Plans Joint Biotech Venture With Osaka University

Japanese Delegation

The delegation from Osaka, Japan, along with three professors from the UA College of Pharmacy

An agreement between the UA and Osaka University's School of Pharmaceutical Science will boost the biotechnology industry in both locations.


By Karin Lorentzen, UA College of Pharmacy
June 20, 2008

The University of Arizona College of Pharmacy will soon be home to a collaborative research initiative between the UA and Japan's Osaka University.

An agreement between the UA and Osaka University's School of Pharmaceutical Science, known officially as the International Memorandum of Understanding, will boost the biotechnology industry in both locations. Biotechnology, according to Michael Katz, clinical associate professor in the UA College of Pharmacy, uses DNA and other components of cell structure to make substances and devices for use in medicine, agriculture and engineering.

The partnership will:

  • Foster collaborative research and development around new and emerging life sciences technology, such as drug discovery, personalized diagnostics and innovative therapies.
  • Facilitate exploration of economic development opportunities and industrial partnerships that might result from such collaborative research.
  • Enable information and technology sharing and exchange.
  • Allow for faculty or other research and technical personnel exchanges.

Potential benefits of the agreement are academic (fostering collaborative research), economic (developing new technologies that would be marketed) and social (improving people's health and well-being).

A delegation of 18 high-level representatives of Japanese industry, education and news organizations visited the UA on Monday to hear presentations and tour labs prior to finalizing the agreement. Representatives of the delegation visited several U.S. universities in November 2007, and, based on that visit, chose to collaborate with the UA.

“Osaka University was looking to team up with a U.S. university that would foster entrepreneurial and business development,” Katz said.

The partnership has been fostered by the UA Division of International Affairs; Global Advantage, a program of the UA Office of Economic Development; the UA College of Pharmacy and the Arizona Department of Commerce.

© 2008 Arizona Board of Regents